Ghana is expected to receive the fifth tranche of $370 million as part of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of June subject to the approval of IMF Executive Board.
The release of the amount would bring the total disbursement to the country under the ECF to $2.242 billion.
This follows Ghana’s successful completion of the fourth review of the programme and the signing of Staff Level Agreement with the Fund.
An IMF staff team, led by Mr Stéphane Roudet, Mission Chief for Ghana, held meetings in Accra from April 2 to April 15, 2025, to discuss progress on the authorities’ policy and reform priorities in the context of the fourth review of Ghana’s three-year programme under the ECF.
The IMF Executive Board approved Ghana’s 36-month (three-year) $3 billion ECF supported programme in May 17, 2023 to help restore macroeconomic stability and reduce growing public debt.
At a joint briefing between the Government of Ghana and IMF in Accra yesterday, the IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Mr Roudet, said the Mission would submit a report on the review to the IMF Executive Board by June, and once the review was approved, the $370 would be disbursed immediately.
Mr Roudet said the Mission was satisfied with the progress being made to achieve the targets of the programme, saying growth in 2024 was higher than expected, underpinned by strong mining and construction activity and good external position of the country.
“Notwithstanding these achievements, overall performance under the IMF-supported programme deteriorated markedly at end-2024. Preliminary fiscal data point to slippages in the run-up to the 2024 general elections, on account of a large accumulation of payables. Inflation exceeded programme targets. Several reforms and policy actions were delayed across the fiscal, financial, and energy sectors,” Mr Roudet stated.
Against this backdrop, he said the government had taken bold measures to address policy slippages and ensure the programme objectives remain within reach and lauded the government for the audit of the country’s expenditure last year to ascertain the size and nature of the slippages.
He said discussions with the authorities centered on possible additional measures needed to address structural weaknesses in the public financial management and procurement systems as well as steps to ensure fiscal execution remained consistent with programme objectives.
The Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, said government was committed to the full implementation of the programme and had no intention to renegotiate the programme.
He said the government had commissioned the Auditor together with two international audit firms to audit government payment obligations to validate their legitimacy and value and provide recommendations for government action.
Among others to curb government expenditure, The Finance Minister said the government had commenced the operationalisation of a compliance desk at the Ministry of Finance to monitor Municipal and District Assemblies’s compliance with the Public Financial Management Act.
The Governor of BoG, Dr Johnson Asiama in his remarks said the success achieved by the country under the ECF programme was based on Ghana’s strong policy implementation.
He said inflation had continued on a disinflation path, reflecting a tight monetary policy stance.
“The Bank of Ghana stands committed to ensuring that all programme objectives are met in line with the bank’s medium-term objectives of establishing a conducive environment for business and economic resilience,” Dr Asiama stated.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
